Apple is shutting down its 10-year-old London music festival, Apple Music Festival

For the past decade, Apple has thrown a series of free music concerts in London every year, featuring big-name acts ranging from Elton John to Lady Gaga.

But no more: Apple Music Festival is shutting down.

First launched in 2006, and then called iTunes Music Festival, the event has always been designed to promote Apple’s music apps. Its format was a series of concerts over multiple nights — originally for a month, and later for 10 days.

Members of the public could apply for tickets for any specific night via Apple’s apps — iTunes and later Apple Music, its music streaming platform.

The events provided an opportunity for fans to see some significant acts free of charge — Ed Sheeran, Pharrell, deadmau5, Justin Timberlake, Kendrick Lamar, and the Arctic Monkeys, to name a few.

I hold fond memories of the event: I won tickets to two nights in 2009, to see Simian Mobile Disco and Friendly Fires. It was absolutely terrific, some of my first gigs away from home, and I wouldn’t have been able to afford to pay for tickets. It’s a shame to see that go.

As Music Business Worldwide notes, Apple hasn’t entirely turned its back on live events. It has done one-off shows in London, SXSW festival, and elsewhere, including Skepta, Lana Del Rey, and DJ Khaled.